NEW HAVEN — Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova overcame the heat and a three-hour match with Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova on Sunday in the first round of the Connecticut Open.
The 26-year-old Cibulkova won 7-6 (6) 6-7 (5) 6-3 as she continues her comeback from left Achilles surgery that sidelined her for more than four months this year.
The tournament lost its top seed when Simona Halep withdrew because of a left thigh injury after losing to Serena Williams in the Western & Southern Open championship in Cincinnati earlier in the day. She was replaced in the draw by lucky loser Lesia Tsurenko.
In other matches at Yale Tennis Center, Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu beat Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, and the Czech Republic’s Barbora Strycova topped Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-2, 7-5.
